The ex-Sunderland striker made it eight goals in his last nine MLS appearances after bagging a second-half brace in a 3-3 draw with the New York Red Bulls.
Jozy Altidore continued his fine run of form for Toronto FC on Sunday night, netting a second-half brace to secure his side a 3-3 draw against the New York Red Bulls at BMO Field.
An early Steven Beitashour own goal and Bradley Wright-Phillips strike saw the Red Bulls race out to a 2-0 lead by the 31st minute, but Toronto managed to reduce the deficit four minutes before half-time after Michael Bradley burst into the box to finish off a well-worked team move.
Wright-Phillips restored the visitors’ two-goal advantage just three minutes after the break when he found himself on the end of a perfect through ball from Sacha Kljestan, but their cushion would last only 20 minutes before Altidore brought the hosts back into the match with a brilliant free-kick.
.@JozyAltidore https://t.co/s8qJVpgg93
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The former Sunderland striker was not done there, though, as he popped up again four minutes from stoppage-time to earn Greg Vanney’s men a share of the points, receiving a pass from Bradley on the edge of the box before turning through a crowd of defenders and firing a low shot into the bottom corner.
After struggling with hamstring problems over the first half of the season, the US international’s form had been the subject of plenty of scrutiny this past summer, but a subsequent run of eight goals in his last nine MLS appearances has served to well and truly silence the critics.
“We know how important Jozy is to us,” head coach Vanney told TFC’s official website after the match. “His value to our team is immeasurable; in terms of personality, his size and work rate, everything that he brings is massive. We are a much better team when Jozy is on the field.”
Altidore himself added on the result: “It was a tough game, it was a playoff game. The atmosphere, the tempo, [the opponent]. To stay in this game, to come back get a point in the end showed a lot of guts.
“When we came back in [at half], everybody was riled up, ready to push on. We knew that we were still in this game, that our chances were going to come.”
Sunday’s result also means Toronto maintain their two-point lead at the top of the Eastern Conference over the second-placed Red Bulls with five regular season games left, leaving them all but assured of a trip to the playoffs for the second straight campaign.
The Canadian club currently sit five points behind FC Dallas in the Supporters’ Shield standings on 47 points, but with four of their remaining fixtures taking place at home and their Western Conference counterparts having played a game more, they are certainly still in contention to do the league double.
“I’m very proud of the character of this group, to be able to fight back twice after some really bad mistakes,” Vanney added to torontofc.ca. “The interesting part is [the team are] disappointed we got a draw because they want the Supporters’ Shield, to get out in front of the Eastern Conference… they wanted to win today.
“It wasn’t exactly what we set out for, but it’s a sign that this group is different from [those] that came before.”
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